Today

STEAM to Fuel Your Weekend – December 1

Between school, homework, practice and spending time with loved ones, it’s easy to miss out on the latest in science, technology, engineering, art and math. But don’t worry, Thinkery’s got you covered. Here are some of our favorite STEAM discoveries from the previous week. It’s fuel for your weekend.

Photo Credit: New Bedford Whaling Museum

Completed in 1848, the “Grand Panorama of a Whaling Voyage ‘Round the World” is the largest painting in North America. This massive art piece is 1,275 feet long and eight-and-a-half feet tall! It was created by Benjamin Russell and Caleb Purrington and depicts the aspects of a whaling voyage across its quarter-mile-long canvas. When it was first created, the piece was toured across the US and was put away into storage once it began to chip and deteriorate. Now, after a 20-year restoration project funded by the New Bedford Whaling Museum in Massachusetts, a team has restored and digitized the panorama. An adhesive layer was sprayed on the panorama to stabilize the remaining paint layer, sections were stitched back together and thinning areas and tears were fixed. The museum is currently searching for venue large enough to display the piece. Click here to learn more about this awesome project!

Photo Credit: Pelagic Life

Mexico has just established the largest marine protected area in all of North America. The marine reserve covers 57,000 square miles surrounding the Revillagigedo Islands, about 240 miles southwest of the Baja Peninsula. This means that fishing, mining and the development of tourism infrastructure is fully prohibited in the region. These waters are home to 366 species of fish and 37 species of rays and sharks. The islands also serve as calving grounds for humpback whales and support coral and other marine ecosystems. Learn more about this amazing conservation effort!